Mining Company Moving to New York Amid COVID-19

The ongoing COVID-19 outbreak across the world has halted business activities in practically every sector of human life and has forced firms to temporarily suspend activities or close altogether. When initial lockdown measures were being put in place in major cities in the world, there was discussion about how this would affect the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry. While the industry thrives over the internet, there are still firms that hold physical offices and conduct their business in-person. In the aftermath of this, the price of major tokens took a dip and many crypto firms shut down their physical locations.

Despite all of this, A bitcoin mining firm by the name of Riot Blockchain has recently announced that they have signed a deal that will see a portion of their mining equipment be moved to New York City to a facility owned by Coinmint.

Risky Business

This move is significant not just because they will be physically moving their operations during COVID-19 lockdown measures but also because it will be moved to New York City which is one of the biggest epicenters of the outbreak in the United States. This has drawn concern from many who worry about the health and safety of employees as well as customers in the long term. However, Riot blockchain has stated that they have performed the necessary risk assessments of moving the operations to New York and that the ‘plug-and-play’ infrastructure that is offered by Coinmint will help me to mitigate many of the risks associated with the virus.

Mining companies are often the first type of firms that are hit hard by any significant change in the crypto market and many have seen progress decline in the last month after the crypto market crashed and many are simply trying to wait out the current lockdown situation and hope for better times. According to the official press release, Riot Blockchain has stated that they will be entering into a co-location mining services contract in which a portion of their Antminer S17s will be moved from Oklahoma to New York City.

When the miners in question arrive at the facility in New York, they will undergo testing before they will go live. Coinmint already has a reputation for being one of the largest data center operators in the United States. Riot Blockchain has stated that this new arrangement will help reduce power costs as well as environmental issues that have been reported at the Oklahoma facility and will allow the firm to expand on its hash rate capability.